It will be clearly understood that, if a prior art publication is referred to herein, this reference does not constitute an admission that the publication forms part of the common general knowledge in the art in Australia or in any other country.
Construction sites need power in order for the building to be built and/or fitted out. Contractors have to provide safe power and to take into consideration grounding, shock hazards, short circuit considerations, vault currents and safety. There are two ways to provide electricity to a construction site: grid power or generated power. Power supply cables can be run to the main electrical panel of an existing facility or power can be provided by gas- or diesel-powered generators, which are generally stand-alone portable units.
Once power is provided to a site (by grid or by generator) it needs to be distributed for lighting and also for powering tools. This can be achieved by the construction of various distribution panels and temporary electrical wiring for taking the power to where it is needed on site. Not only are the high voltage circuits and cables required for powering tools and lights, they are also used to provide data connectivity to the building site. Today's building sites are often highly connected in terms of network connectivity. Internet access is likely to be a requirement for builders working on the site. Also other gear such as IP security cameras and access control systems need to operate. All of this equipment relies on high voltage power sources or at the very least, other network peripherals that requires high voltage power sources.
The conventional approach to wiring and provisioning a building site brings with it many risks. In particular, there are great risks associated with electrocution. In construction sites, the temporary high voltage cables pose an electrocution risk to the licensed electricians who install and remove the high voltage cables as well as by other trades and builders who may inadvertently cut the cables and electrocute themselves during the building process. On average 3 Australian builders a year are electrocuted on building sites and many more are badly injured.
In addition to the risk of electrocution, high voltage cables represent a fire risk. This is particularly so if substandard cabling is installed, which is often difficult to detect in today's building services environment, where much product is imported into Australia of dubious quality.
In addition to the risks of death, injury and property damage, there comes the associated costs of mitigating these risks. There are voluminous standards that are set out by various bodies that detail how electrical work should be conducted with respect to high voltage power and its uses in construction. The regimes instituted by the various bodies responsible for maintaining standards in electrical services sector are costly to adhere to. This includes the mandatory use of licensed electricians to do any work with respect to high voltage power lines and lighting circuits.
Because of the particular needs of the construction industry, including various requirements for simplicity, replicability, robustness and ease of use, the problems associated with high voltage wires have gone unsolved, if not undetected by the vast majority of builders who have subconsciously accepted the risks posed by high voltage electricity in the workplace as unavoidable when the risks are in fact avoidable.
It is an object of the present invention to at least ameliorate the problems associated with the use of high voltage cabling in building and construction sites. Preferably the systems, methods and apparatus of the present invention will substantially lessen the use of high voltage cables in construction sites.